As news of Dolly Parton’s death spread across the globe last week, plaudits rightfully arrived, touting many of Dolly’s legacies. Of course there was her incredible singing and acting career, her amazing support of literacy, her commitment to East Tennessee with the creation of the Dollywood theme park, and her unwavering support of marginalized groups. She seemingly did it all, and that extends into the world of independent film.
In 1986, Parton along with her then manager Sandy Gallin, formed Sandollar (Sandy + Dolly) Productions. One of the first projects from the company was Common Threads: Stories From The Quilt. The documentary focused on the Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. It went on to win an OSCAR for best feature documentary. Bear in mind this was at a time when the nation was gripped in HIV/AIDS fear and misinformation: A time when the president had little interest in helping the largely gay male victims of the disease as it ravaged gay communities.
Along with several projects that featured Dolly, Sandollar was also one of the producers of Noah Baumbach’s first film, Kicking and Screaming. Baumbach would go on to direct several films like The Squid and The Whale and Marriage Story. He has also been a writer/co-writer on more than a dozen films, and served as an executive producer on the mega-hit Barbie, directed by his wife, Greta Gerwig.
While entertaining the world for decades, and helping those in need, Dolly Parton also found time to create a production company that would launch several careers, and with Buffy, one of the most beloved franchises in movie and television history.